HONG KONG, March 20: Asian stocks closed mostly firmer on Tuesday as investors consolidated Monday's sharp gains and settled down to wait for the US Federal Reserve's meeting on interest rates, dealers said.
They said there was no incentive to take positions aggressively until the two-day Fed meeting ends Wednesday, with most expecting no change in policy but wanting to see what the central bank will say about the US economic outlook and recent problems in the all important housing market.
A sharp rise in US mortgage defaults sparked another global equity sell-off last week on concerns the fallout could hit consumer demand, the US economy's main driver. While stocks have largely recovered the lost ground, no one wants to get caught out of position by the Fed.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices bounced back for a second straight day as overnight gains on Wall Street and a softer yen provided a further boost to recovering investor sentiment, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index of leading shares gained 153.65 points or 0.90 per cent to 17,163.20, extending Monday's 1.59 percent advance.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 0.47 per cent higher on expectations of strong results from blue chips such as China Mobile and with a rally on Wall Street bolstering sentiment, dealers said.They said the gains were kept in check by caution ahead of a US Federal Reserve policy meeting and worries that China might adopt more tightening measures following the interest rate hike announced over the weekend.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed 0.4 per cent higher on the back of a strong positive lead from Wall Street and domestic merger and acquisition activity in the banks, dealers said.
The benchmark SP/ASX 200 added 23.2 points at 5,882.9 while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 22.4 points to 5,861.7.
Turnover was 1.53 billion shares worth 5.05 billion dollars (4.04 billion US), with 642 stocks up, 531 down and 374 unchanged.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.11 per cent firmer, coming off early highs as profit-taking eroded sharp gains made on the back of Wall Street's rise on Monday night, dealers said.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 1.10 per cent higher, rising sharply ahead of an investment conference to be held here starting Wednesday, dealers said.
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 0.14 per cent lower in see-saw trade that saw profit-taking offset by gains in large-cap stocks, dealers said.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.22 per cent lower, dragged down by market leader Telecom, dealers said.
The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 8.69 points to 4,041.61 on turnover of 128.3 million dollars (90.1 million US).
Telecom fell eight cents to $4.55, a day after an Australian company it has invested in -- Hutchison Telecommunications -- said it planned to raise up to 2.85 billion Australian dollars (2.3 billion US).
Telecom holds 19.9 percent of Hutchison subsidiary H3GA. There is speculation Telecom would have to invest up to 300 million Australian dollars to maintain its shareholding.
MUMBAI: Indian shares closed up 0.48pc, coming off the day's highs amid uncertainty over a key US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting starting later in the day, dealers said.—AFP